Welcome to my E-Learning Blog. My name is Kelly Wilkins and this is my first term of Uni, so it's a little daunting. I am an at home mum to my son, who is 14 mths. I am studying B Aarts but wanting to do B Learning Management when it is offered next year.
I am looking foward to chatting with you all about the course and sharing opinions on subject matter.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Students working with WIKI's

My task for students to populate a public WIKI would start with students working in pairs of 4 or 5 and deciding on a few different topics to search for in WIKIPEDIA. They would be required to report back to the class on the topic that has the least amount of relevant and up-to-date information. Each group would then present their findings to the class. Once each group has presented their topic, the class would vote on which topic they would chose. Once this is decided, the original groups of 4 or 5 would each have a particular part of the topic to research.
By letting my students decide on what topic they will research, I believe I would have them engaged from the get go. For this kind of task, I think the actual subject they are researching is irrelevant, its the process in which they would be learning the most valuable lessons. This means they could chose a popular movie star or sport as their topic. Researching would in this case, involve looking at statistics, popular culture and geography. The students would also have to qualify their findings to ensure validity. Students would also have to ensure that the information they are preparing for publication is written academically and adheres to Netiquette guidelines.
It is a task that has all the components of the Engagement Theory, "Engagement Theory is based upon the idea of creating successful collaborative teams that work on ambitious projects that are meaningful to someone outside the classroom" (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999)
Upon completion of this task, students would a real sense of achievement, as their work is published for the world to see, and will be meaningful to people in the 'real world'.

Please post comments on my idea, good or bad, as I am yet to get into a classroom, so I am keen to know if this is an idea that would work in the 'real world'